Father Rick Swanson served as the rector of St. John's in the Mountains Episcopal Church in Stowe from 2011-2025, and has been serving the Stowe Mountain Chapel in various capacities since 2011. Ordained as an Episcopal priest in 2001, he has served parishes in Los Olivos, CA, Morristown, NJ, Dowagiac, MI and Stowe, VT. Fr. Rick graduated from California State University, Northridge in 1995 with a B.A. in Deaf Studies, he received a Master of Divinity in 2000 from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill, and was awarded his Doctor of Ministry from Bexley-Seabury Seminary Federation, Chicago, Ill, in 2019. Father Rick was born and raised in the suburbs north of St. Paul, Minnesota and learned to ski and ice skate at the age of 2 and was named to the United States Speedskating Team from 1988-1991. An avid athlete, he continues to ski (and preferably telemark) throughout the winter and plays ice hockey as often as possible, year-round.
